Threat of West Nile Virus Prompts District Efforts to Curb Mosquitoes

School districts in some Southern states are taking aggressive
measures to protect students from being bitten by disease-carrying
mosquitoes because of increasing fears of the West Nile virus.

Those steps are especially vigorous in Louisiana, where there
appears to be a greater prevalence of mosquitoes carrying the
virus.

Officials of the 33,000-student St. Tammany Parish public schools in
Covington, La., for instance, are telling principals to limit outdoor
recess time and to keep all physical education classes indoors. This
school year, the district is also providing insect repellents to
students who participate in after-school activities for use with
parental permission. And all nearby ponds are being stocked with
mosquito-eating fish.

Schools in the district have also been instructed to remove outdoor
containers that might collect water, or to drill holes in the bottoms
of the containers so the dirty water, which attracts mosquitoes, drains
and dries.

The West Nile virus is most dangerous for elderly people with
underlying health problems and for young children, according to the
federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The virus causes
flu-like symptoms, such as slight fevers, headaches, neck stiffness,
disorientation, muscle weakness, and skin rashes.

However, less than 1 percent of mosquitoes carry the West Nile
virus, and less than 1 percent of the people who are bitten by infected
mosquitoes will contract the virus, according to the CDC.

So far, 480 cases of West Nile virus have been reported nationwide
in 2002, and 24 of those people have died, according to the CDC.
Louisiana tops the list with 171 reported cases and eight deaths,
followed by Mississippi with 91 cases and three deaths, and Texas with
38 cases and one death.

Response in Houston

In Texas, the 208,000-student Houston school district is also
responding to concerns about the virus. The district isn't directly
providing mosquito repellants, but students are allowed to bring insect
repellent lotions to school for self-application. In addition, letters
with basic facts about the virus have been sent to parents, and school
maintenance workers have been told to eliminate areas of standing water
on school grounds.

In Mississippi, the state's "Fight the Bite" program encourages
schools to include students in the effort to prevent West Nile
infection. The state is educating students on conditions that increase
mosquito populations, symptoms the virus displays, and methods of
prevention.

While the state is not asking schools to limit student outdoor
activities, Christie Farese, the Mississippi Department of Education's
public relations director, said state officials were taking the threat
seriously and were asking all schools to make an effort to maintain
cleaner campuses that would tend not to attract mosquitoes.

Vol. 22, Issue 1, Page 6

Published in Print: September 4, 2002, as Threat of West Nile Virus Prompts District Efforts to Curb Mosquitoes

Notice: We recently upgraded our comments. (Learn more here.) If you are logged in as a subscriber or registered user and already have a Display Name on edweek.org, you can post comments. If you do not already have a Display Name, please create one here.

Ground Rules for Posting
We encourage lively debate, but please be respectful of others. Profanity and personal attacks are prohibited. By commenting, you are agreeing to abide by our user agreement.
All comments are public.